The invention relates to a processing machine having a machine frame and a processing element arranged so as to be movable relative thereto via at least one drive shaft. The drive shaft is coupled to the machine frame and the processing element by means of a floating-bearing arrangement.
The invention also relates to a floating-bearing arrangement having a first rolling-contact bearing and a second rolling-contact bearing, in particular for use in such a processing machine, and to a method of mounting a rotatably driven shaft with such a floating-bearing arrangement.
In sanding machines, for example, a pressure element which can be driven in an oscillating manner and is intended for pressing abrasive onto a workpiece is supported on a machine frame by means of one or more drive shafts. The pressure element and the machine frame extend in a longitudinal direction at right angles to the delivery direction of the workpiece to be processed. The processing element, i.e., the pressure element, and the machine frame expand to a different degree due to the heating which occurs during the processing. This effect is partly intensified owing to the fact that, in sanding machines, for example, the pressure element, is made of aluminum in order to save weight, and the machine frame is made of steel. Such a sanding machine is disclosed, for example, by EP 0 543 947 B1.
If the processing element is rotatably attached to the machine frame by means of linear rolling-contact bearings, on account of the thermally induced linear expansions of the machine frame and of the processing element, relatively large loads of the linear rolling-contact bearings can occur in the longitudinal direction of the processing element and of the machine frame.